Freddie Freeman (oblique) will begin a minor league rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Gwinnett. Freeman was cleared for game action after making it through a workout Thursday. He’s scheduled to play rehab games on Friday and Saturday with an eye toward activation on Monday in Colorado. The 23-year-old was batting .412 (7-for-17) with one home run, one double and seven RBI prior to the injury. (Rotoworld)

Ryan Braun slugged his third home run of the season on Thursday as the Brewers defeated the Giants. The first-inning home run snapped a mini slump for Braun. He boasts a cool .275/.396/.575 batting line, three home runs and 10 RBI through 11 games this season. The 29-year-old should again challenge for the NL MVP. (Rotoworld)

Since moving into the second spot in the order six games ago, Zack Cozart has gone 10-for-26 (.385), the Reds’ official site reports. Usually the batting order doesn’t make the hitter, but rather the hitter has his usual set of hot and cold streaks. That’s likely the case here with Cozart. (Rotowire)

Travis Snider went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk Thursday, raising his batting average to .314 (11-for-35). Snider has five doubles thus far, two of which narrowly missed going out of the park. He looks comfortable at the plate. Last season was a struggle for Snider, who battled a hamstring ailment, but he appears healthy now and could prove to be a decent buy-low candidate. If nothing else, he’s off to a good start. (Rotowire)

Edward Mujica nailed down a four-out save in the Cardinals’ win over the Phillies Thursday. It wasn’t an easy one. Mujica entered with two runners on in the eighth and struck Laynce Nix out with three pitches. He then allowed consecutive singles to start the ninth, leaving runners at the corners with no outs. “Chief” escaped, though, getting a ground out, a strikeout and another ground out to convert his first save since May of 2012. Mujica is the Cardinals’ hottest reliever and is the guy to own for saves right now in St. Louis. (Rotoworld)

Russell Martin hit his first home run of the season Thursday against the Braves. Martin had just two hits over his first 31 at-bats this season, but he now has a modest three-game hitting streak going. Hey, we’ll take what we can get. It’s unlikely that Martin will match the power he showed in the Bronx, as PNC Park is a pretty tough venue for right-handed batters, but he should be owned in two-catcher mixed formats. (Rotoworld)

Todd Frazier had a big night Thursday against the Marlins, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and three runs scored. He also drew a walk. Frazier went through a lull after a red-hot first week, but he’s now gone deep in consecutive games and has five longballs and 14 RBI for the season to go along with a .298 batting mark. He should continue to be a fine option at the hot corner for fantasy owners. (Rotoworld) Also see the Deadspin article: Todd Frazier Homered at the Request of a Batboy with Down Syndrome